Hearthstop: Run Away With Me
by danbashy
Summary: As Bell Cranel's wedding draws near, trouble stirs in the Orario Dungeon. Goddess Loki finds herself the target of a witch hunt as adventurers across the city fall into poverty. BellxLili, AizxLefiya.
1. 1A: Letter From the Editor

(Note to readers potentially confused by the cover image: there's an FFN internal error that keeps switching the story's real cover with one of my old avatars. In case you see some poorly-drawn red person, the true, chibi-style cover I drew for Hearthstop may be seen here at this internal link: imgurDOTcomSLASHqYottFeDOTpng - replace DOT and SLASH with appropriate characters. FFN doesn't normally allow external links, but I think they'd be OK with this exception while their servers are having issues.)

Hello! This is my second Danmachi fanfic. You could say it's a "sequel" to my first one, "Dinner for Two," as it takes place directly afterwards, but the relationship between Bell and Lili takes a back seat to a much bigger plot, and you don't need to read the original to understand the story (previous deviations from canon are briefly explained as they come up). I considered adding additional chapters to "Dinner for Two," but Hearthstop is different enough from the simple BellxLili romance story to be an entirely new fanfic.

The story will have four large chapters split into three "sides" for a total of twelve smaller chapters. Side A will focus on Hestia Familia's version of events, Side B will focus on Loki Familia's version, and Side C will be an additional story showing how minor characters in Danmachi are affected by the circumstances.

 **Chapter 1A: Letter From the Editor**

On Tower Orario's distant rooftop, a small flame burns eternal. Winds blow, rains fall, and winter sets in, but this tiny flame burns strong. Few citizens know of its existence. Fewer still know this little flame grows smaller, weaker, colder every day, and one day very soon, it will finally flicker out.

 _..._

 _"Cranel,_

 _Do you know where monsters come from?_  
 _Did your grandfather ever tell you?_

 _-H"_

Bell Cranel flipped the note over, and again, and once more. He held it up to the crystal lamp: no secret message. Those really were the only words on it.

"Eina, what's this all about?" Bell pocketed his letter and started grabbing crystals from Liliruca Arde's giant sack. "What did this person look like?"

"You know, it's strange," Eina Tulle put her hand to her chin and looked up. "Even though he was here just a few minutes ago, I can't remember. It's like he was never here to begin with. I told him we're not a courier service, but he wouldn't listen. Anyway, it all worked out since you showed up so soon after he left."

The exchange counter lady placed Bell's crystals on a big scale, weighed them one by one, and tallied up something in her notepad. She handed the adventurer boy a large bag of gold, coins jingling as he shifted his weight to carry it.

"Bell, don't tell me it's a love letter!" Lili snatched the parchment from Bell's hands. She read it over and paused, deep in thought.

Beside them, a burly man with a barbarian outfit and a beard you could keep a cow in slammed a small crystal on the other counter. A guild serviceman weighed his crystals and handed him a tiny pouch of gold and a receipt. The barbarian slammed his fist on the counter.

"What do you mean '900 Valis!?'" His hair was frayed and his armor was singed. "Can't you see this is a top tier crystal? Come on, just a few thousand more! What's wrong with you greedy bastards!?"

Misha Flott, a pink-haired girl about Eina's age and her best friend in the Guild, watched the scene and sighed.

"Third time today," Misha ran her hand through her hair. "Glad I'm not working exchange."

"Yeah," Eina nodded. "They're even more desperate than usual. I wonder what's going on."

The large man grabbed the iron grate separating him and the exchange man, ripped it off its foundation, tossed it aside, and leaned over the counter. Eina covered her mouth.

"You think you can just rip me off, don't you?" The Soma barbarian reached through, clutching the serviceman's collar. "Whassamatter? Scared of adventurers? Maybe starting to rethink your offer?"

"Bell, don't!" Lili saw Bell reach for his knife and grabbed at his hand. "Let's just go, alright?"

Bell tugged his hand from Lili's grasp and lunged at the barbarian, knocking him off his feet with a kick. The exchange serviceman fell backward and gasped for air.

"What's your problem, kid?" The barbarian wheezed and rose to his feet. "This is a private transaction. Stay out of my way!"

Bell gripped his knife in reverse, assumed a defensive stance, and watched the barbarian dash out of the guild, leaving his gold behind.

"Was I really that scary?" Bell sheathed his knife. "Oh."

Aiz Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, walked in looking despondent, followed by Riveria Alf, her right-hand mage. Bell realized the man hadn't run from him at all. Aiz shot a silent glare at Bell and Lili before dumping her crystals on a counter.

That's right: several weeks ago, Bell and Lili had bumped into Aiz Wallenstein, Bete Loga, and Finn Deimne in the dungeon. The Sword Princess, renown for her composure and grace, had seen Lili's engagement ring and grown furious. She'd forced Bell's fiancée to fight her, and since then, a silent tension stirred between Hestia and Loki familia.

"It's as I thought," said Riveria, shaking her head. "Less and less each time."

Aiz hung her head and left the guild as quickly as she'd entered. Riveria stopped and thought for a moment before following her out.

"Eina, I shouldn't pry, but why is everyone so frustrated?" Bell turned to the half-elf at the counter. She adjusted her glasses and leaned back into her chair.

"From what I've gathered," Eina crossed her legs and folded her arms. "There's been a shortage of monsters in the dungeon. Their spawn rate's decreasing, so adventurers' returns on investment are decreasing as well. Of course, people like Wallenstein blame themselves, as if working harder will change anything."

"Spawn rate...?" Lili stared at the letter again. Who was this "H" person?

...

"My oh my, Miss Supporter, you've done well."

Goddess Hestia dismissed the status interface and jotted some stats down on a piece of paper. Lili turned from the pillow to look.

"Heee! Rank A! _Rank A!_ " Lili's tail wagged furiously. "Bell, look, look! I got Rank A in Vitality!"

Bell's life had changed a lot in the last year. He'd paid off his supporter's debt to Soma Familia, found a streetside mini-mansion for Hestia, and proposed to Lili by moonlight. Hestia had even begin to accept their engagement. Still, seeing them lying on Hestia's bed, bare-back, staring soulfully into each others' eyes... the whole situation bothered her more than a little.

"That's great, Lili!" Bell gave her a thumbs up. "You've been working really hard, so I'm not surprised."

Even though they slept together, Bell still turned red at the sight of Lili lying shirtless on the bed beside him.

"Now, Bell-kun, it's your turn!" Hestia leapt across the bed and smashed Bell's face into his pillow. "You'll have PLENTY of time to ogle that thieving dog, so don't get so excited!"

Goddess Hestia pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall on Bell's back. His status tattoo glowed, and the numbers engraved within rose into the air, shifting and sliding. Strength: 332. Dexterity: 681. Vitality: 194. The process continued like this until Hestia swiped the interface away, and the tattoo on Bell's back warped to reflect his new status.

Today, only his Strength ranked up. Hestia knew this would happen, of course. When Lili stole his heart away one Spring day, Realis Phrase disappeared. Hestia made Bell promise to bring her happiness by buying a house Hera herself would envy. This promise briefly brought Bell's skill back, but she underestimated how quickly her "Little Rookie" could gather crystals. When the Familia moved in to Apollo's old mansion, and Bell proposed to Lili, his skill disappeared, and his stat growth slowed to a crawl.

Hestia handed Bell his stat sheet, and he turned it over a few times, frowning. She crossed her legs and put her hands on her knees behind him.

"Bell-kun, at this rate, Miss Supporter will catch up to you," The little Goddess smirked. "If you don't work harder, you might even fall behind!"

"Eheheh," Bell waved his hand dismissively. "To be honest, I thought this sort of thing might happen. After all, Lili and I fight side by side now."

"That's right!" Lili sat up and pumped her fists. "With Artel Assist and Welf's sword, my Bell doesn't have to protect me all the time."

"Hmph," Plan status: failure. Hestia hopped off the bed as Lili fastened her bra and Bell pulled his shirt back over his head. "Anyway, what do you two want for dinner?"

Lili shouted " _beef soup!_ " over Bell's cry of " _omelette!_ " Hestia skipped away, leaving them alone.

"I think she's finally warming up to me," said Lili. She pulled her shirt back on and laid back on the bed. "Even though she still calls me 'Miss Supporter' and 'that dog.'"

"Ah, she doesn't mean disrespect!" Bell laid back as well and wrapped an arm around Lili, pulling her close. "My Goddess likes nicknames. For example, it makes no sense to call me Bell-kun in an English-language fanfic, but she wouldn't be comfortable just calling me Bell."

"You're probably right," Lili sighed. "Anyway, expecting her to be completely fine with all this is a bit much."

"What do you mean, 'all this?'" Bell raised an eyebrow.

"Think about how she feels," Lili said. She was more perceptive than usual today. "Your Goddess loved you for a long time, hiding her true feelings for your sake, only for some little Prum girl to show up out of nowhere and steal you away. Not only that, but we're gonna get married and have eight kids and grow old and die together. Hestia will have to watch all of it and find some way to keep living afterwards. I bet she's thought about all this before, but it wasn't real until now."

"I think I knew that, in the back of my mind, but I couldn't see my Goddess as anything but a sister," Bell shrugged. After a moment, he shot up from the bed. "EIGHT KIDS!?"

"Shh, shh, shh," Lili pulled him back down and placed a finger on his lips. "Let's just enjoy the quiet while it lasts."

...

"Ha-ha-ha! Your pouch is looking pitiful, lass!" "You too, Boss? So it's not just a fluke." "Maybe someone's going through and stealing our kills before we show up." "At this rate, I'll never be able to afford that lotion for the Missus..."

A tall figure in a white cloak walked through the crowd outside Tower Orario, concealed in silence amongst a cacophony of frightened voices. Locks of teal hair hung below a white hood. The mystery person turned to the sky and stared. Tower Orario reached up into the clouds and disappeared.

Magic drew on divine power, valuable reagents, and environmental factors, but most importantly, magic drew on the user. A spell strong enough to affect the whole dungeon would shrivel its caster like a prune. Even a ritual of hundreds could not sustain such vast power.

So what sort of spell was weakening the dungeon, and who was its caster?

...

"Omelette..."

"Soup...?"

Bell and Lili turned blue as Goddess Hestia set the table. She wore a "HEARTHMASTER SUPREME" apron with little hearts around the words.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Hestia sat bowls and forks - forks!? - in front of them. "Miss Supporter, I hope you don't expect me to be your maid-cook once you marry my Bell-kun. This is just a treat for two soon-to-weds!"

"I hadn't thought about that," Lili's face fell and hit the table. Her domestic skills were Rank F.

"Goddess, would you want us to move out?" Bell picked at his soup. It wasn't as bad as it looked.

" _Move out!?_ " Hestia leapt from her seat and wrapped herself around Bell like a Facehugger. "Leaving your Goddess all alone in this big, empty mansion! I might turn turn to dust from despair or become some wretched alcoholic, turning naughty tricks in town for attention and ale! Oh, what a horrible thought!"

"G-G-G-Goddess, please!" Bell flailed. His chair wobbled. "In that case, I won't ever leave you!"

"Ehhh? _'Never?'_ " Lili glared at Bell. "Bell, you would force your poor Goddess to be a live-in aunt for eight teething Half-Prums?"

"EIGHT?" Hestia felt herself turn to stone and shatter into a million pieces. "Eight little doggy-eared Bell-kuns?"

"No matter how you look at it, this isn't normal dinner conversation!" Bell pushed Hestia off him.

"Miss Supporter, I thought you had put on a couple pounds, but to think you would shamefully deflower my precious Bell-kun even before your wedding-!" Tears streaming down her face, Hestia reached into a cabinet and pulled out three bottles of "Cooking" Sake.

"That's NOT what I meant!" Lili bared her fangs and tried to suck her belly in. "And you can't 'become' a wretched alcoholic if you already are one."

"Tell me one thing, Miss Supporter!" Hestia opened a Sake bottle and gulped the whole thing in one go. She slammed the empty bottle on the table, clinking omelette soup bowls, and started on another. "Why do you wear that fake Chienthrope outfit even in the privacy of our home? Even with Soma Familia paid off?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lili's puppy ears shot up. "Bell likes me better this way."

" _Eheheheh,_ " Bell blushed and sunk into his chair.

"So you used Bell-kun's weakness for cute animal girls to seduce him!?" Hestia popped open her third bottle, wishing she had stolen some cat ears back when she worked at a costume store. "I never stood a chance!"

"Also, Goddess," Lili drew closer to Hestia and grinned evilly. She slid her fluffy tail up and down the Goddess' arm. "My 'fake' Chienthrope form is fully functional, even when it comes to 'that,' you know?"

Hestia flipped her bowl. In slow motion, omelette soup barrelled toward Lili's face...

...

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I can't help you," Eina Tulle counted change as the sun set outside the Adventurer's Guild. "I don't know any more than the adventurers know, and they're all as confused as you."

"Ma'am," The white-cloaked figure's voice was soft but serious.

"Hm?" Eina stopped and looked up.

"It's Ma'am, not 'Sir.'" The cloaked woman extended her hand. "Reverend Eria, travelling priestess."

"Oh, sorry," Eina very hesitantly took Reverend Eria's hand and shook. "Do I know you, Reverend?"

"No," The priestess turned and walked to the door. "If you learn anything, please let me know."

Reverend Eria tossed a small notebook Eina's way. Eina noticed faint runes engraved on the cover.

"A two-way notebook?"

...

In the dark of night, as rain drummed on the roof and mice chattered on the floor, Bell carefully extracted himself from Lili's dreamy grasp, hopped off the bed, and felt his way to Goddess Hestia's room. His footsteps echoed like thunderclaps in the great, empty mansion.

By magic lamp light, Hestia thumbed through a colossal book: "Rejected Waifu Recovery Manual: Moving On After He's Moved On!" She heard footsteps and hurled the book at a wall, frantically reaching around for a pocket-knife under her pillow.

"That's as far as you go!" She rolled out of bed and waved her knife around with wild abandon. "I-I'll have you know I've got several Level 5 adventurers in my Familia who'll hunt you down if you do anything! Oh - Bell-kun."

"Sorry to trouble you, Goddess." Bell sat on the foot of Hestia's bed.

"N-no trouble at all," Hestia breathed a sigh of relief. "But Bell-kun, this isn't like you. Rendezvousing with your Goddess in the middle of the night? Keeping a girl 'on the side?' What would your supporter think? Buuuut, since you're already here..."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Bell furrowed his brow. "Anyway, I couldn't sleep. Something's been bothering me."

"Remember what I told you that day? You can tell your Goddess anything. That's a benefit of joining Hestia Familia." Hestia sat down next to him. For a moment, Bell realized his Goddess was beautiful. No surprise, really - even Loki was stunning in her own way - but with her hair down, and in those white pajamas... he shook his head and dismissed the thought.

"Goddess," Bell handed her the strange letter he'd received at the Guild. "Where do monsters come from?"

 _ **...**_

 _ **"WAAA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA!"**_

 _Great God Zeus, high above in Heaven, looked down upon Creation and slapped someone on the back._

 _"Amazing, isn't it? Look at this, lad," Zeus spun the Earth and pointed to a small, stone circle near a continent's edge. Tiny beings marched into the circle through a little gate. "They're all working together to make this place beautiful. 'Orario,' they call it. I dream of flying down there and telling them how proud I am."_

 _"Best we not interfere," said Zeus' companion. His voice was deep and his words were calculated. "Isn't greeting them in death enough?"_

 _"About that," Zeus folded his massive, hairy arms. "Remember when you missed last month's Denatus?"_

...

"I see," Bell stared at his feet. "I guess there's some things off limits even to gods."

"Yeah," Hestia cross her legs. "Despite all our powers, we're not omnipotent, omniscient, or other omni-things."

"Wait, 'all our powers?'"

"I shouldn't say this, Bell-kun, but even in this world, gods can cheat," Hestia smiled and leaned her head against Bell's shoulder. "We can raise your stats and levels as high as we want and level cities on a whim."

Bell's mind flashed back to his unusual growth spurt.

"Goddess, don't tell me you-"

"Nope," Hestia nuzzled Bell's arm. "That was all your skill. Besides, I'd get sent back to Heaven for sure if I didn't follow the game rules."

"Game rules? Skill?" Bell reached a hand around to the tattoo on his back. "You mean 'Argonaut?' But my growth spurt started weeks before that!"

"I lied to you, Bell-kun," Hestia yawned. "Didn't I tell you deities are a pack of fun-starved hyenas? I couldn't let anyone find out about such a powerful skill."

"But then," Bell balled his hands up in fists. "Why did it stop?"

" _Realis Phrase,_ " Hestia's voice trailed off as she recited the skill description. " _Accelerates growth of user. Effect increases with intensity of feelings. Effect lasts while feelings remain unchanged._ "

A minute passed in silence as Bell thought hard. Finally, he whispered to himself: "Aiz."

Hestia snored, sound asleep. Bell lifted her up, carried her to her pillow, and pulled the covers over her. He stopped in the doorway before heading back to his room.

"Sleep well, Goddess."

He wondered: did gods dream?

...

In the dark hours of the morning, as even cicadas slumbered, a knock echoed through the Hestia Familia mansion.

" _Myeh,_ " Lili tossed and turned. "Gotta rest up for th' cerrmony. Let the Goddess get it."

"Oh, yeah. Weddin'," Bell yawned. "I almost forgot thass today..."

"Don' even joke about forgettin' stuff like that," Lili elbowed him half-heartedly.

Another knock.

Bell rubbed his eyes, rolled out of bed, slipped into a white bathrobe, and walked down the hall to the front door. When he finally cracked the massive door open, a woman in a great, white cloak stood in front of him. Behind her, a slender, fire-haired girl shivered in the night, eyes shut tight.

"Trouble stirs," Reverend Eria pulled her hood back, revealing two long, thin, elven ears. "We request sanctuary under your Familia."

"Riveria? _Goddess Loki?_ "

Bell had a sinking feeling he was going to be late to his own wedding.


	2. 1B: Hold the Line

**Chapter 1B: Hold the Line**

[THREE MONTHS AGO, EVENING]

"Another round for everyone! No, two rounds, on me!"

Cheers, whoops, and hollers were heard for miles. After a successful expedition to Floor 60, Goddess Loki herself invited everyone in her Familia to the Benevolent Mistress. Loki, a red-haired girl with a cutting-board chest and a tiny, form-fitting, black outfit, swung a chair 'round and sat down next to Aiz Wallenstein, her most successful child (also her sexiest child, but you didn't hear that from her). Loki and Aiz had a strained relationship, but not for any past grievances. Their personalities simply went together like sheep and wolf, except the sheep had a big, blue scabbard and kept slapping the wolf in the face with it.

"Sooooooooooo, aren'tcha gonna tell me what was down there?" Loki downed her tenth ale. It's only fair that a Goddess should outrank mortals in everything, including liver strength. "Musta' been somethin' strong. You got a good nick on your chin."

"Hm?" Aiz snapped back to reality and rubbed her wound. She couldn't admit a level one supporter was responsible. "Correct. On the sixtieth floor, we encountered new landforms and monsters. The trend in size actually reversed, and the monsters appeared smaller and more intelligent than in stratum five."

"Hmmm? More intelligent? Ya mean like they saw through all your combat tricks?" Loki giggled. "Don't worry. Your truly holds weekly mischief seminars. Complementary bag of tricks at the end!"

"It's not that," Aiz sipped warm milk and stared off into space. "Those monsters were almost human. Before we approached, they were speaking in some language and laughing and holding hands."

Bete Loga, a silver-haired wolf Chienthrope and a First Class fighter in Loki Familia, snuck up behind the two girls (as best a fellow like Bete can "sneak") and put a hand on each of their shoulders. Loki turned, but Aiz remained deep in thought. Bete snickered.

"Hey, Aiz, you're not gonna tell Loki you have trouble fighting human-like critters, are you?" Bete lowered his voice. "Not after beating that Prum supporter to a bloody pulp!"

" _Huuuuuuh?_ " Loki cocked her head. Aiz stuck a fork between Bete's eyes, and the wolfman howled and fell to the floor.

Aiz clenched her fists and shut her eyes. Loki knew that look well: "no more questions." Captain Finn Deimne, Loki Familia's small (even for a Prum) tactician, pulled a seat up next to his Goddess.

"Aiz overworked herself during the expedition," Finn said. "It's not something you should worry about. I'll deal with her at length in the morning. Let's grab another drink and leave Aiz to her thoughts, how about?"

Loki gladly obliged. Aiz slumped back into her chair. On the other end of the table, unnoticed, Lefiya Veridis, a petite elf girl with a long, golden ponytail watched the Sword Princess and frowned. _Prum supporter...?_

...

[TWO DAYS AGO, AFTERNOON]

Riveria Alf, First Class mage, lead Lefiya, her Second Class apprentice, into Loki's Grand Library. Ancient spellbooks, demonic biology indices, and forbidden history tomes lined the shelves from carpet to ceiling. In the room's center, four inward-facing couches surrounded a coffee table. Though Loki's Library doubled as a conference room, the two were alone at the moment.

"Today's lesson is on telepathy," Riveria took a seat on a couch. "You'll be learning to-"

"Telepathy? Like... reading thoughts?" Lefiya grinned from cheek to cheek to skipped over to the "Psychics" section of the library. She started pulling out books at random, but one caught on something and wouldn't budge. The petite elf girl tugged and tugged until the book slid free, along with a hundred or so other books just overhead. A muffled whine made its way through the fallen book pile.

"I have today's volume right here, actually," Riveria opened a small notebook covered in runes. "Please put those back."

" _Whyyyy meeeee..._ " Lefiya's Misfortune stat was Rank S.

"In fact, traditional telepathy is a spell reserved for only the most competent mages," Riveria continued as Lefiya hurriedly re-shelved books completely out of order. "However, magic 'tools' like this notebook allow a certain level of silent communication at a distance, not unlike true telepathy."

"Eh?" The apprentice took a seat next to her master. "Isn't it just a normal notebook?"

"Observe," Riveria pulled a second notebook from her cloak and handed it to Lefiya. She opened the first notebook and rubbed a small coal over page one, leaving a faint, black mark. Lefiya noticed her own notebook glowing, and when she opened it, am identical coal mark faded in to view. "It's not entirely discrete, but with this, two parties can communicate from great distances."

Lefiya nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on the page. She wondered what kind of mage had the power to make such amazing tools.

"Unfortunately, today's lesson will have to be cut short," Riveria shut her notebook. "I brought you here for a different reason."

"A different reason?" Lefiya slowly closed her notebook as well. "You need me to do something?"

"I have to disappear for a while," As Riveria spoke, Lefiya noticed the corner of a third notebook jutting out from her cloak. "For now, you'll be acting as head mage for our Familia. That notebook is how you'll stay in touch with me, but don't write more than necessary. Understand?"

"Head... mage...?" Lefiya turned blue in the face.

"Something very troubling is occurring," Riveria stood up and headed for the door. "One day, Lefiya, my position will be yours for good. Treat this as a test of your aptitude."

"I-I understand," Lefiya stood tall and tried to look strong. "Leave it to me!"

Riveria pulled her hood over her head and walked away.

[ONE DAY AGO, LATE EVENING]

Finn Deimne sat in the library/conference room, in a couch circle with every First Class adventurer in Loki Familia: Aiz Wallenstein, Bete Loga, Gareth Landlock (a sturdy Dwarf), and the Hiryute twins, Tiona and Tione. These impromptu meetings were annoying, but Loki adventurers knew better than to blow them off, as Finn would never gather busy dungeon divers over a trivial matter. He tapped a glass goblet and called the meeting to order.

"As you all know, we've received word from Lefiya Veridis that Riveria has taken Goddess Loki some place safe," Finn paused and listened through the half-open window. Distant shouts echoed in the night. "Lefiya, would you close that window?"

Lefiya peeked out from behind a couch and slinked over to the window. She shut it tight and dashed back to her hiding spot. Finn tapped his goblet again.

"Sorry, but I don't want anyone listening in. Anyway, if communications between Riveria and the adventurer's guild were recorded properly the notebook she left," Finn leaned forward and stared at Lefiya's elf ears poking up behind the couch. She felt his eyes on her. "We should expect the first wave of desperate adventurers here shortly."

Tiona hugged Tione tight and quivered. Though the amazoness sisters were twins, their maturity levels were day and night. Bete grabbed a silver coin from his pocket and laid it on his thumb.

"Heads we hold, tails we run," said Bete. "I mean, that's why we're here, right, Finn?"

"It's _not_ a decision to take lightly," Finn said. Bete pocketed the coin. "Many of our Second and Third Class adventurers are returning from the dungeon later tonight, and we don't have time to send word. If we abandon them now, they may be harmed on their way home."

" _Damn!_ " Bete snarled. "I still don't get why they singled out Loki. Why not that shifty God Hermes with the stupid hat?"

"They believe our expedition to Floor 60 is responsible," Aiz interjected. "Somehow, someone found out about the magic seal we broke on our way down from Floor 59."

"I dinnae know much aboot magicks," Gareth spoke up. "But it sounds right near logickal ta me. The beasties started slowin down not days after that, yeh? Tar up the witch-goddess an feather her all over, maybe the dungeon fergives em an we all get ta go back ta stabbin stuffs."

"Why didn't we notice it before now, then?" said Tione. She gave Tiona, still wrapped around her, a quick peck on the cheek.

"Lefiya, your findings?" Finn motioned her forward.

"Um, well," Lefiya was a nervous wreck, but she crept back into view. She buried her face in the notebook to avoid eye contact. "O-our unknown third writer, which Riveria gave the last notebook to, apparently works for the adventurer guild. S-she wrote again this evening, saying the rate of decrease in gemstone collection has been exponential."

"Exponenti-who?" Bete's eyes glazed over.

"Imagine a speck of moss in a pond," Finn continued in Lefiya's place. "It doubles each day. By the third day, you've got four specks. On day four, eight. Still not much, right? But after just twelve days, that speck of moss has grown to over four thousand times its original size. If we assume the guild's gemstone collection correlates with monster spawns, then in less than a week, monsters will have all but disappeared from Orario's dungeon."

"There she is, then," Gareth stared up at the magic ceiling lamp lighting their late-night conference. "No beasties means no shiny rocks. No shiny rocks means no power, yeh?"

"I-I think we should flee!" Lefiya placed a hand over her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes. "E-even if we make it through tonight, Miss Riveria's told me stories about old places that lost their energy source and turned to lawless chaos. Black liquid burned for power dried up, coal cooked for steam disappeared, and every time the same ending!"

"This _blows,_ " Bete kicked the coffee table. "If we're gonna run, we oughtta wait for our half-baked spelunkers to show. Anyway, what's a hungry, wimpy mob compared to this all star team of First Class fighters right here, y'know?"

"My, my," Tiona stopped whimpering and smirked. "Standing up for the newbies after all? Bete's heart grew three sizes that day."

"Shut up!" Bete scoffed. "If we leave the city, we'll need them for meat shields and dumb muscle. That's _all._ "

Loki's best adventurers sat in silence. Through glass window, Aiz saw a faint, flickering flame in the distance, then another, and another. She stood and reach for her scabbard.

"Bete is right," said the Sword Princess at last. Everyone gasped. Was this Bete's first halfway decent tactical decision? "Lefiya, do you know any protection spells?"

"Y-yes," Lefiya tried to hide her blush. "Nothing that would cover the whole resort, though."

"Don't worry about that," Finn got up, walked to a corner of the room, and grabbed Loki Familia's flag: a red sheet on a pole with a black joker insignia on both sides. "Aiz, Bete, and Gareth will hold the front, so focus on protecting them. Tiona and Tione will scout the sides of the house for surprise attacks. Remember: these are normal citizens we're dealing with, not monsters, so aim to _disable,_ not kill."

Aiz bit her tongue. Was that reminder directed at her?

[EARLY MORNING, PRESENT DAY]

"Riveria? Goddess Loki?"

"Hurry up and get yer Heifer Goddess, bunnyface. I'm _freezin'_ out here!" Loki tried to stick her arms up Riveria's cloak for warmth, but the mage whacked her with the end of her staff. " _Owww_..."

"Don't worry about that, just come on in," Bell unlatched the door and pulled it all the way back. Riveria and Loki walked in. The grand entrance hall looked much different than Apollo had left it. His curious collection of stone statues was gone, and large, motivational banners with slogans like "You can do it, Bell-kun!" and "Hestia is Bestia!" hung down from the rafters.

"Oh _man,_ " Loki dashed to the end of the hall where a massive hearth roared, warming the whole place. "Check it out, Riri: internal heating! I guess that big boobed loli's a pretty good homemaker after all."

"Well, I _am_ the Goddess of the Hearth."

Goddess Hestia emerged from her room. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she'd slipped into white rabbit slippers with beady red eyes. Riveria turned and bowed.

"Please, mighty Goddess Hestia, grant our own Goddess Loki sanctuary," Still bowing, Riveria pulled a pouch of gold from her pocket and thrust it forward. "I don't expect this to last more than a few days."

"Grant who what now?" Hestia turned 180 and gasped.

" _MOO-MOO!_ " Loki zoomed back down the hall pulled Hestia into a way-too-tight hug. "Oh, I haven't seen ya in forever, Moo-moo."

"Stop calling me that," Hestia gagged and tried to dislodge Loki's arm. "No-eyes, good-for-nothing, pavement-chested wench!"

"That's right, we haven't seen Goddess Loki since that day," Bell's thoughts went back to that rainy day when he broke the truth to his Goddess. "Thanks for covering our meals back then, by the way."

"Oh, _yeah,_ " Loki stopped suffocating Hestia and chuckled. "I almost forgot about that. Moo-moo, I believe you owe me one!"

"Whaaaat!?" Hestia broke free and pointed a finger at Loki. "What happened to 'out of the kindness of my own black heart?'"

"Riri, you can pocket the dosh," Loki waved a hand at Riveria's coin pouch. The mage stopped bowing. "I'm cashing in on a favor - with _interest!_ Well, you guys, this has been great, but I've got business with Mr. Log and Mrs. Flame."

The trickster Goddess dashed back down the hall to Hestia's hearth and stuck her head in the fire. Bell couldn't tell if she was in pain or ecstasy or both. Riveria put the gold in Hestia's hands.

"Consider it advance pay for whatever she breaks. Unfortunately," Riveria put her hood back on and walked to the door. "I can't stay to babysit her. I have to take care of something."

"Stop," Hestia put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. When Riveria turned her head, she continued: "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Not enough money?"

"Tell me," Hestia sighed. " _Why_ are we housing Orario's least responsible deity?"

[AROUND THE SAME TIME]

Eina Tulle woke up. Had she fallen asleep on the job? No, it was dark out. She must have been too tired to walk home after doing those calculations for her message to the priestess. She slid out of her blanket - wait, blanket!?

Misha Flott was asleep at her own chair, snoring faintly. Her pink hair looked frazzled. Eina poked her a few times, and when that didn't work, she popped the sleeping girl's drool-bubble.

" _Gooo, gooo, Argonaut!_ You're the best and they... are... not?" Misha threw her arms up for her dreamy cheer.

"Misha, what's going on?" Eina looked around. The office was dark, and they were alone.

"Oh, right," Misha pointed to the east window. "It's too dangerous to go out, so when you fell asleep, I decided to stick around."

"Dangerous?" Eina felt for her glasses and found them. Once her vision came back, she leaned toward the east window and saw a bunch of little fire-lights. "Isn't that Loki Familia's resort?"

Eina noticed a desk drawer glowing. She pulled it out, opened the notebook inside, and saw a couple curious lines of text. They looked nothing like Reverend Eria's handwriting from the last entry. She read the words out loud:

 _Don't worry about us, Rev!_  
 _We've got your back!_

"Just what did I get myself involved in...?" Eina wondered as she stared out at the distant flames.

[A LONG, LONG TIME AGO]

 _Great God Zeus, high above in Heaven, patted Hephaestus' head._

 _"_ _ **Amazing**_ _work, lass!" Zeus looked the gate over. Hephaestus grumbled and returned to her work. "So this is all it takes, then? Step right through and you're as mortal as they come?"_

 _The Terragate was a large, Mithril arch, glowing with decades of imbued, divine magic. Each Mithril piece divided up by two smaller, darker ichor-stone: the "nodes." Hephaestus' finest creation, its magnificence dwarfed even Thor's hammer. If you looked close, you could almost see lightning crackling inside._

 _"Mortal enough, my lord," A loud CLANG echoed across Heaven as Hephaestus struck her anvil. "When it's done, you'll simply step through and let Earth's gravity handle the rest."_

 _"When it's done? Lass, you've been working for twenty years! The minor gods have got themselves worked into a tizzy over the possibilities! Why, it's all Freya thinks about nowadays!"_

 _"Patience, my lord, patience," Hephaestus' red eyes appeared to glow like hearth fire. "Just a little more time, that's all I ask."_

 _"Lass," Zeus narrowed his eyes and walked to Hephaestus' side. "Don't tell me you've got unvoiced reservations?"_

 _"Of course not, my lord," Hephaestus stopped hammering. "Only-"_

 _"-Only? Only what?"_

 _"Persephone confessed her concerns to me earlier," The Divine Smith turned away from Zeus. "Since then, I've wondered if we're not meddling needlessly."_

 _"I see," Zeus lifted Hephaestus up by her neck. She gagged and grabbed his arm. "So our troublesome friend poisoned my daughter's mind, and now she's spread her venom to you as well? Have we not agreed to a hundred rules for this game, ensuring our divinity will not bring suffering to the mortals? A hundred rules, and here you are, trying to stall or perhaps destroy MY Terragate?"_

 _"Ghk- no-!" Hephaestus kicked at Zeus' toga. "Un- unhand me! It's- not- finished!"_

 _"I'll be the judge of that!" Great God Zeus hurled Hephaestus into the Terragate. The inner nodes lit up, locked her in midair, and shot lightning out from all directions, centered on her body. Hephaestus screamed as a misaligned node blasted her right eye with a thousand volts. After a moment, the device shut off, and Hephaestus fell down through the clouds and into Earth's atmosphere at blinding speed._

 _"I suppose it could use a little adjustment," Zeus grabbed Hephaestus' hammer and surveyed her forge. "Oh, what_ _ **fun**_ _we'll have..."_


	3. 1C: The Hostess of Fertility is Barren?

**Chapter 1C: The Hostess of Fertility is Barren!?**

[ONE WEEK AGO]

Ryuu Lyon offered her hand to the tattered warrior in red garb lying on his back. He scoffed and picked himself up with some effort. His companions, decked out in full plate armor, backed away slowly. The warrior reached for his sword, but Ryuu kicked it away. It spun across the floor until it hit a wall with a _clink_.

" ** _ENOUGH!_** " Mia Grand yelled. Everyone froze mid-move. Mia was a stocky woman in her forties with short, greying brown hair. "This is a place for eating and drinking. Get _out!_ "

All four adventurers hesitantly headed for the door. Ryuu's defeated warrior in red walked fastest. Mia Grand sighed and resumed cleaning mugs.

"Those Level 3s and 4s think they can do whatever the Hell they want," Mia _slammed_ a clean mug on the shelf and grabbed another. "At this rate, I'll have to promote you to bodyguard."

Ryuu, a blonde, elven girl with intimidating eyes, walked over to the warrior's massive sword. He must have forgotten it in his rush. She picked it up and placed it on a back shelf: "lost and found." Ever since the trouble started, low-level adventurers' wallets had been stretched thin. Only higher-level adventurers, who ventured deep into the dungeon where monsters still spawned, could afford the Benevolent Mistress' prices. Mia Grand knew she couldn't complain: most restaurants had shut down entirely. Many families didn't have enough to eat. No matter how you looked at it, adventurers were central to Orario's economy. Even if Mia could do something about it, she was much too old to resume her old adventuring life.

"You didn't have to do that," Ryuu said. "I know we're struggling to break even as is."

"Don't you tell me how to run my restaurant," Mia winked and sat the clean cup aside. Upside: not as many dirty dishes lately. "Besides, our portions are plenty large. They shouldn't treating you girls like a second course."

Syr Flova, a silver-haired, Human girl in a green waitress outfit and long, black boots walked out of the kitchen balancing two trays of roast beef. She looked around and saw Ryuu and Mia, but those customers were gone. She sat the trays down on an empty table.

"Someone was being naughty again and had to leave, right?" Tears welled up in Syr's eyes. "So I made all this for nothing. _Again._ "

"Syr, look outside, nya," Arnya Flomel, a cat Chienthrope with brown hair and sharp teeth peeked out from the kitchen and pointed to the door. "Isn't that your Little Rookie, nya?"

" _Bell!_ " Syr picked up the larger plate and ran outside. Bell Cranel stopped and turned. "Are you going to the dungeon today?"

"Ah, Syr. We haven't seen you guys in a long time, huh?" Bell couldn't stop staring at that roast beef plate. He'd forgotten to eat breakfast, and his mouth watered like a distressed gardener.

"I'm sorry," Syr bowed and held the plate out in front of her. "We've been so busy trying to bring in customers. I haven't had any time off. Would you like some?"

"Bell, come on! We already wasted enough time this morning," Unnoticed until now, Liliruca Arde tugged at Bell's arm. Syr leaned to the side and examined Lili's massive backpack and chipped greatsword. Something was off. Syr remembered her face from the last time Bell ate here, but she'd never seen his supporter walking with him on the way to the dungeon. They couldn't be... _living together?_

"Syr!" Mia, standing in the doorway, stomped to get her attention. "Don't just offer fresh meat for free. We have to pull a profit!"

"Oh, that's right," Syr stood straight and smiled. A plan formed in her mind. "If you buy one plate, the other's free, but just for today. Wouldn't you like to treat your supporter?"

"Lili, did you hear that?" Bell put his arm around Lili's shouder. "It's been a while since our last date, you know?"

 _Date?_

"Engaged for a year and you're still doting on me," Lili reluctantly followed Bell in. "I think that's something I like about you, Bell."

 _ENGAGED!?_

Syr's pupils slowly descended. Sure enough, a small, diamond ring encircled that vile dog-girl's fourth finger. _Engaged? To Bell? Who?_ _ **Her?**_ Syr's hands shook, and her plate started to slip, but she caught herself and followed Bell inside.

"So that's the sort of trouble you're in," Lili's fork searched for stray beef crumbs. "But why would low-level customers stop coming?"

"There are rumors, but we don't know for sure," Ryuu, sitting across the table from Bell and Lili, hung her head.

"Hmm. Now that I think of it, Lili, haven't we been making less money lately?" Bell pushed his empty plate over to Lili, and she scoured it for microscopic meat morsels. "Maybe it just seems that way because I stopped going at night."

"Huh? Going to the dungeon at night, all alone?" Lili poked her fork into Bell's cheek. "You're _just now_ telling me this?"

"Oh, right, uhhh, _eheheheheh,_ " Bell put his hands behind his head and looked away. He was sweating furiously.

"So _that's_ how you were able to afford these things so quickly," Lili said. "You're always so reckless, so reckless! Don't you know I would have married you no matter what? And you go and put yourself in danger for some finger bauble!"

"It's not some bauble, Lili," Bell held his palms out between them. "I know you struggled a lot before we met, so I wanted to give you this as a symbol, like: 'those times are over, I'll provide for you now.'"

"Bell..." Lili's voice cracked.

" _NYAAAAARGH!_ " Aryna materialized and flipped their table, sending Bell and Lili hurtling toward the floor. Ryuu stood and dusted herself off. "This is our one-time, super special Benevolent Mistress chapter and you're clogging it up with your stupid romance story, nya!"

" _Ow..._ " Lili wished she'd taken to armor. "Geez, sorry."

"What about a promotion?" Bell, still lying on the floor, raised his hand. "Remember how you offered us two meals for the price of one? What if you gave people some kind of incentive to get in?"

"We're running at a loss as-is," Mia scowled at Bell.

"You could do a promotion that doesn't cost any money," Lili said. She was covered in her own spilled beer, but she climbed back to her feet. "Remember: dignity is free!"

"Dignity?" Syr, previously curled up a corner, stricken with NTR grief, jolted back to life. "Wait, you don't mean...?"

...

Business was booming. Directly outside the Benevolent Mistress, a five-by-five pool had been hastily erected. Just above the water was a little diving board. Syr stood on it, shaking, her eyes darting around the open street. Aryna had forced her to wear a grey cat-ear headband because it was, apparently, "titillating." Rowdy men hooted and hollered whenever someone's tomato hit the little target beside Syr, dunking the poor waitress into the pool.

"300 Valis for a 'mater, 600 for three!" Chloe, a black-cat Chienthrope, winked at the patrons.

Syr felt a tomato explode on her face, but she was used to this by now. Someone in the crowd shouted: " _Guess I missed, lil Miss!_ " Everyone laughed. Everyone except Syr.

Just as the girl wiped the last bit of tomato juice off her face, she heard a _clunk_ , and the board under her gave way. Water splashed onto the pavement. Arnya cheered as well before running back inside to fetch more ale.

 _Ottar, save me...!_

...

On the city walls, the evening sun's last gasps painted the sky a brilliant orange-red. Two silhouettes approached one another. Up here, on the wall, no one would see them. Well, anyone who might would be too busy or tired to care.

A young woman with golden Rapunzel hair and large, white wings came into view. She wore a blue-and-white outfit and carried a sword at her waist. Carrying weapons was atypical for a Goddess - except those which no longer have a Familia to protect them.

"Astraea," Ryuu began, but the Goddess cut her short.

"Things are starting to get interesting, aren't they?" Astraea leaned on the walkway's border and gazed at the green farmland beyond Orario. "If you want to make a villain, you just take a good person and give them a little... tiny... _push._ "

The Goddess flicked a small stone off the city wall and watched it disappear off into the distance. Ryuu took a step back. Astraea turned to her and smiled.

"What are you going to do with yourself in these last days?" Astraea asked.

"I'm not certain," Ryuu lowered her head. "But I want to protect the people who helped me."

"Then stay with them. As pressure rises, others will investigate, no doubt. As long as we all play our designated parts in this story, I'm sure it'll work out fine."

"You're right," Ryuu stepped forward and leaned on the edge next to her old Goddess. "Thank you for seeing me."

"I loved my children," Astraea's eyes seemed to twinkle in the dusk's last light. "Each and every one of them. I don't blame you for what you did. It's some consolation to see you've found a new family, in a way."

"Goddess," Ryuu knew deities were immortal, but Astraea looked older now than before. Her eyes were weary, her posture was slanted, and she appeared tired with life itself. "Will you return to Heaven?"

"No," The winged Goddess leapt up and off the city wall. Her wings beat violently, holding her in the air. She spun around and stretched her arms out toward Ryuu. "I still love this world, even with all its sins. Good and evil here are _real_ and _meaningful._ It's better than the pettiness of Heaven."

"Then you're leaving the city?" Ryuu clenched her fists.

"Orario has no place for Gods now," Astraea said. "Take care of your new family, Ryuu."

With that, the winged Goddess flew off into the sunset. After the sun fully set, Ryuu pulled her long coat around her and hopped down from the city wall. Lunch break was officially over.

...

Miach, a kind-hearted, dark-blue-haired God and part-time apothecary, couldn't resist a good party. Unfortunately, he'd gotten himself a little too entangled in events, and now he was sitting outside the Benevolent Mistress, holding the restaurant's last and smallest tomato. A large crowd gathered around, watching his deliberations. Syr, soaked from head to toe, whimpered.

"If you're expecting divine aiming skills, you're all going to be disappointed," Miach said. He grinned big and, finally, tossed the tomato.

It spun once, twice, thrice, and just as it neared the target, and a blade slashed the tomato clean in two. Ryuu stood in front of the diving board and signaled "stop" with her free hand. Miach threw his arms up and shrugged.

"How anti-climactic," The potion-selling God pulled a thin, green vial from his coat pocket. "Don't let this happen to you: buy Miach Familia's famous Dexterity potions today! 5,000 Valis a pop!"

"It was all a lead-in for an advertisement!?" One man in the crowd shouted.

 _"That's against the rules, nyaaaa!"_

Aryna dashed out the door, leapt onto the diving board, tail wagging, and tackled Syr, sending them both barrelling into the water below. Patrons guffawed, and Miach exited gracefully. Mia looked proudly over the scene.

" _Remember!_ " Mia held her finger up and addressed the crowd. "Even in hard economic times, the Benevolent Mistress will be here to ease your pains. Come and see us again, you hear?"

Her customers cheered and dispersed after thanking the hostesses for a good time. Street lights flickered on, illuminating the pool while the waitresses worked to haul its dirty water back into River Orario. _Indeed,_ thought Mia Grand, _even in tough times, we can't all run off and be heroes. Some of us have to serve in whatever way we can... even if that's cleaning dishes._

For just one night, under the stars' glow, happiness briefly returned to this crumbling city.


	4. 2A: Hearthstop

**Author's Note:** Here we go, chapter two! The subchapters are going to be a bit longer this time around as this is where the real action starts.

 **Chapter 2A: Hearthstop**

In a tower on Orario's outskirts, concealed from view by a powerful magic barrier, a seductress with long, white hair and a black, one-piece outfit sat on her throne. Before her, a scrying circle displayed a different woman, an elf in a white robe, chasing some illusory figure through Orario's dark side-streets. Beside the seductress, a tall, muscular Boaz ("Bearman/Bear-like Man") stood to attention. He opened his mouth to ask a question but quickly thought better of it.

"Ottar," said Goddess Freya. "I believe I've found something to relieve my boredom."

"Yes, Goddess," Ottar replied. Only his mouth moved.

"It's been just _dreadful,_ you know," Freya picked up one of her many Bell Cranel dolls and stabbed its eye with a sewing needle. "I had high hopes for that boy."

"Of course, Goddess," said Ottar. "You and I both."

"Oh?" Freya grinned and placed her chin in her palm. "You're not delighted that I've stopped paying so much attention to him?"

"Goddess Freya is like a river," Ottar deadpanned. "Though she single-mindedly rushes to her destination, I'll still find her in the same place the next day."

"You're very attractive when you say things like that," said Freya.

"What would you like me to do with the elf?" Ottar finally met her gaze.

"Not the elf, Ottar," Freya leaned closer to her portal and pointed to a shadowy figure seemingly floating away from the woman in white. " _Him._ "

...

"Tell me," Goddess Hestia sighed. " _ **Why**_ are we housing Orario's least responsible deity?"

Riveria Alf seemed to ignore her. The mage stared at the ground, bent down, and picked something up. Hestia walked to her side for a better view: it was the letter Bell had shown her.

"Goddess Loki," Riveria began. She ran her hand over the letter, perhaps looking for some magical, invisible text. "Will surely be killed if she remains in our care. Many in this city believe she, and our Familia, are responsible for the dungeon's decline."

"Dungeon's decline?" Hestia leapt to grab Riveria and put her in a headlock, but the elf side-stepped out of the way. "Stop being so dodgy - literally!"

"Ask your guest about it. I have business to attend to today."

Riveria walked off into the cold, dark morning. The door slammed behind her. Hestia pulled herself up off the ground after her failed Strangehold Technique and brushed off her night-gown.

"Goddess, remember how I asked you where monsters come from last night?" She had forgotten Bell Cranel's presence in the hall. "About that..."

...

Liliruca Arde stirred from her sleep. Light poured in through the window. Her room was small compared the master bedroom Hestia claimed, even after removing the other beds Apollo's adventurers used to sleep in. Not that she could complain: before now, she'd slept on hardwood floors and dungeon rocks. Indeed, she was living a lavish lifestyle now.

"Bell-" Lili clutched air. Did he wake up before her?

She got up, rubbed her eyes, and opened her clothing cabinet. Behind two changes of clothes hung her wedding dress: a small, white thing, maybe too small even for her, with a tiny, gemstone tiara. Her heart began to pound. They'd decided on a very humble wedding: her, Hestia, Bell, and Welf. Anyone in Loki Familia was out, Syr and Ryuu were working double shifts, and Hestia couldn't seem get her hands on Miach or Hermes recently.

Ever since the gods descended upon Orario, priests were a rare sight. To compensate, government officials in the Tower declared gods and goddesses able officiate weddings even outside their Familia. Their reasoning was such: previously, priests claimed to speak for gods when bestowing the sacrament of marriage, so the word of a god was at least as binding as that of a pastor. Marriage also took on a celebrity element. Young couples would reserve a wedding by Ganesha over a year in advance, and those less patient or thoughtful could always count on a lesser-known goddess like Amphitrite for a low-key, last-minute ceremony.

The role of priest/priestess changed in other ways as well. Nowadays, a priest was often a messenger for a large Familia with many members spread out across the land - literally a "messenger of God." Occasionally, traveling priests claimed to speak for Gods who had returned to Heaven, but most people now believed such communication was impossible or unlikely. Either way, "priest" had become a mobile role, and nearly all the churches, temples, and altars in Orario were slowly abandoned following the gods' fall. Some gods claimed old churches, especially those originally devoted to them (if any), and used them as headquarters for their growing Familias.

Goddess Hestia was a special case: a "Hestia cult" existed long before the discovery of magic crystals, and her followers worshiped her exclusively at home. Hearths, now a novelty thanks to magical heating, burnt in every home, and among her devotees, allowing a hearth to die in the dead of winter was heretical. Because of this, Bell and Lili's little goddess had neither church nor temple, so when she claimed the downstairs room of of that overgrown relic, it was a building originally devoted to some other god. This wasn't the first time Hestia'd mooched off another god's assets, and it wouldn't be the last.

Lili could tell Hestia had developed a certain affection for the church, even though they no longer lived there. Hestia had asked Lili if she wanted to return to hold their wedding at the church, and Lili consented. Although she had no real nostalgia for the building, she knew Bell and Hestia did, and holding a wedding in a real chapel seemed "right," somehow, even though few people did so nowadays.

Lili thought about all this as she slipped on her day clothes and walked into the main hall. She heard voices from the dining room, including a voice she didn't recognize, so she turned a corner and peek around the door-frame. Bell and Hestia were sitting around the grand dining table with a red-haired boy - no, a red-haired girl - wait, Goddess Loki!?

"Hrmmmm," Hestia grumbled between sips of coffee (or "brown gold," a luxury for her even now). "I still don't get it. If the problem's getting worse then why dump you on us? Why not just take you out of town?"

Empty bottles lined the kitchen counters. Goddess Loki had a bit of a problem. She'd completely cleaned out Hestia's liquor cabinet before breakfast.

"Riri's prolly got some plan to fix us up," Loki said. She leaned back in her chair and sat her feet up on the table between Bell and Hestia's oatmeal bowls. "She's not the kinda person to just turn tail and run, y'know?"

"I'm kind of worried about your Familia," Bell said. He rested his elbows on the table and sat his head on his palms.

" _AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!_ " Loki fell forward, belly-laughing. "You're _worried?_ About _my_ Familia? That's rich! You're just a pipsqueak, but you're worried about the likes of Aiz! You realize the dungeon is their life, right? Orario's finest fighting machines!"

"Fighting machines...?" Bell blinked. Loki's depiction of her own Familia clashed with his image of the kind-hearted, compassionate Sword Princess. Then again... an image of Lili, bloody and bruised on the dungeon floor, Ais standing over her, flashed in his mind.

"Do ya think she got to Level 6 by sittin around stickin lil ships in bottles?" Loki shook a nearby bottle for any last drops of booze. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not some kinda drill sergeant like Ares was. I love each and every one of em! But they've each of em got enough fire in their heart to cook the city. My Second Class fighters alone could wipe the floor with a thousand knobs before breakfast."

"Um," Lili interjected. Everyone fell silent and stared at her.

"Morning, Lili!" Bell said after a moment.

"Good... morning?" Lili walked a lap around the table before choosing a seat. She had no idea how to talk to gods or goddesses. Hestia was a special exception since she knew her so well, but gods of other Familias took on a mythical status. Even Soma, back when she was in his Familia, was known to most only by his wine. To see Goddess Loki, head of the legendary Loki Familia, sitting legs-up in her dining room was a strange and uncomfortable situation, and she didn't know what to say. On top of that, the silent tension between their Familias seemed not to bother the fiery trickster goddess one bit, but she couldn't be sure.

"Ah, the rest of 'em's just now waking up, huh?" Loki crossed her arms and looked Lili up and down. "How many are there, anyway, Moo-moo?"

Hestia looked away and murmured to herself. Bell tapped his fingers on the table. At first, Lili didn't understand what she meant, but she then remembered the size of Loki's Familia.

" _Ohhhhhh,_ I get it," Loki smirked. "You've only got the two of them, don'tcha?"

"It's not like I haven't been trying!" Hestia was crimson with embarrassment. "B-besides, this way I can give both of them my full attention!"

"Is _anyone_ going to tell me what's going on!?" Lili shouted at no one in particular.

"Lili," Bell motioned to the chair beside him. "Grab a seat."

Lili did so as everyone else carefully considered their words. Bell realized he wasn't really afraid of postponing the wedding until the problem was solved and Orario was peaceful again. His unspoken fear, the real core of the issue he knew Lili would immediately pick up on, was that maybe vicious monsters clawing their way outside the dungeon, held back by a stalwart brigade of warm bodies, were the "problem" in the first place. Maybe someone "solved" them, and there was no going back.

"Lili, remember the incident at the guild? And when Eina mentioned monsters were getting scarce?" Bell said.

"Yeah," Lili narrowed her eyes. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"There's a witch hunt going on outside. They think Goddess Loki is responsible somehow, so we're taking her under our wing for now."

"That's what you get when your Familia's a bunch of evil jerks," Lili sneered. Her sudden disrespectful attitude to Loki surprised even herself.

" _Hey!_ " Loki raised her voice and pointed at Lili. "We ain't evil! We're, uh, opportunists! Completely different, y'see?"

"Beating up a supporter over some infantile jealousy isn't opportunistic," Lili said.

"Huh?" Loki looked genuinely puzzled. Lili wanted to call her out, say "you know what I mean," but she clearly didn't.

"Drop it," Hestia said, glaring at Lili. Bell looked surprised by his Goddess' intensity. " _Don't_ stoop to the level of the desperate adventurers hunting her. Loki is the face of her Familia, but she's not responsible for her children's past mistakes. Otherwise, I'd be guilty of leaving Bell to die in the dungeon."

Lili hung her head at that last jab. Hestia was right. Now that she saw Loki close up, the redhead Goddess didn't seem like such an evil person after all. Maybe a bit unhinged, but not evil.

"Loli Big-boobs is defending _me_ now?" Loki broke the silence. "Boy, this monster thing really _did_ turn the world upside down!"

"Don't mention it," Hestia smiled briefly before scowling. "Seriously. If you do, I'll make you eat those liquor bottles you emptied. Now come help me clean up."

...

Bell and Lili sat, sunken-chested, in front of the roaring hearth fire, warming their backs. What was supposed to be a joyful and memorable morning had quickly devolved into a depressing and boring afternoon. They could hear faint fighting noises outside. This always happened in protests and witch hunts: a small spark ignites a hidden flame in the hearts of many, and before long, one backyard brawl becomes a flood of senseless raids, wild vandalism, and petty theft. If what Bell told her was true, Lili knew this wouldn't stop even if Loki and her whole Familia were sacrificed. Desperate adventurers and hungry laborers, seeking security and purpose, would create new "causes" for violence until the whole city burned.

"Bell," Lili said. She sat with her arms around her knees, an upright fetal position. "Do you know the story of Goddess Fiona?"

"Goddess Fiona?" Bell tapped his chin. "I guess not."

"Fiona was the warrior-goddess of the Prums," Lili said. "We were never the strongest race, or the smartest, or the best at magic, but having that sort of idol gave us faith, and that was enough to get through the day."

"What happened to Fiona Familia, then?" Bell asked.

"Nothing happened," Lili shrugged. "If you look back in history, 'Fiona' was just a group of Prum knights who became famous, and over time, the stories slowly turned them into a goddess. When the real gods came from Heaven, we found out the truth."

"Huh," Bell was wide-eyed. "I never considered someone could lie about gods."

"That's because you're naive," Lili let herself fall sideways against him. Bell blushed and ran his hand through her hair. "You always look for the best in people. _Heee~_ "

"What happened after that?" Bell yawned. This fireside cuddling put him in the mood for a nap.

"Without any official Prum religion, we sort of gave up," Lili said. "We'd sort of always known we'd gotten a bad draw at the start of life, but Fiona provided us an underdog fantasy of rising up against all odds and outdoing other races. This was all before I was born, but you can still see the effects. Most of us became grunt workers, and those who did join Familias, like me, always ended up supporters or rear-guards. You never hear heroic stories of Prums."

"That's weird," Bell wondered why Lili was telling him all this, but he didn't want to interrupt her any more by asking.

"It's weird?" Lili repeated.

"Yeah," Bell stared at the ceiling. "Even though Prums are small, it's clear you have potential to be as strong as anyone else. Just look at Finn Deimne, Loki's commander. He may not be a 'hero,' but the whole city respects him. In fact, look at yourself: just a few months ago, you held your own against _Aiz Wallenstein_. Believe me, I understand the need for heroes to look up to, but your whole identity doesn't have to revolve around your race. Wasn't the Argonaut story about a half-elf?"

"I guess you're right," Lili nodded. "But the history of Prums is like what's happening right now. Without monsters, adventurers are just nasty thugs. The dungeon gave them a future, an identity, and maybe even fame, but now someone's pulling the rug out from under them. Even though I still hate most adventurers, I understand what they're going through."

"It feels kind of weird being a side character in this, doesn't it?" Bell said.

"Yeah, but no matter how strong we are, we can't just go outside and start attacking people," Lili shook her head. "Besides, it's not a simple peasant revolt. Powerful adventurers are dangerous, even if you are a great fighter, Bell."

"Yeah," Bell slouched even further forward.

"Bell?" Lili took his hand.

Bell met his supporter's eyes. Her face was pale, even in the hearth's warmth, and her hand was trembling. Normally, anger or sadness just made Lili cuter, but not this time.

"If the hearth stopped burning," A tear ran down Lili's cheek. "Would you run away with me?"

Right then, Bell found he didn't care for anything in the world but this girl's feelings. He wrapped his arms around Lili and rocked her gently, back and forth, listening to her soft whimpers until finally, as the hearth grew cool, she couldn't choke up a single tear, and so they sat there together, quiet and alone and at peace.

...

 _Great God Zeus, far away from Heaven, regarded his growing city with pride. Before the gods descended, Orario was a no more than a small, Human fiefdom wrapped within in a stone wall. Now, after the "Great Dungeon's" appearance, Orario had become a center of commerce between normally-isolated races. Elves working with Prums, rabbit-people fighting alongside cat-people, Humans and Chienthropes researching crystal power! Zeus knew he was right to choose this place for his "special gift."_

 _"Milord," said a white-haired boy, limping toward Zeus, clad in battered half-plate and carrying a chipped longsword. "The expedition was successful. We reached floor five. As expected, monsters are even stronger there - and their crystals are even bigger!"_

 _" **WAAA-HA-HA-HA!** " Zeus slapped the boy's back. "That's great news, lad. How's the missus?"_

 _"She's well," Zeus Familia's finest adventurer smiled and blushed. "But..."_

 _"But?" Zeus' voice took on a violent tone._

 _"I wish to request leave in her place," said the boy._

 _"Hmm? Why can't she ask me herself?"_

 _"She won't," The boy frowned and looked away. "That's just how she is, but I'm worried about her health, as well as the child's. What if she were hurt in the dungeon? If it's crystals you're concerned about, I'll happily work twice as hard in her stead!"_

 _"I can only hope you'll pass on some of that fiery determination to your child," Zeus nodded. "Sir Cranel."_

 _..._

"Gods-be-damned, this is the **_BEST!_** "

Goddess Hestia seethed. She didn't _have_ to explain the situation, but Loki just kept pressing and pressing, and Hestia was so excited and flustered and jealous and spilled _everything!_ Now Loki had a veritable mountain of blackmail for the next Denatus.

" _You_ \- with _him!_ And then the _doggie!_ And now it's the three of ya, all _stuck together_ like this! _AHAHAHA!_ " Loki's laughter propelled her across the kitchen floor. " _Even on Earth,_ you just can't get _any_ action, can ya, Moo-moo!?"

"Shut _up,_ " Hestia grabbed pots and pans from the shelves and tossed them at Loki, but the trickster goddess rolled out of the away, still laughing.

"And to top it _allllll_ off - the _icing_ on your _cuckold cupcake_ \- _YOU'RE_ doin THEIR wedding!" Loki was in tears. "Everything about this is juss _per-fect-o!_ "

"If you don't get over here and help me with the dishes, I'll string you up to a flashing sign: 'FREE WITCH TO A GOOD HOME.'" Hestia scrubbed a pan with newfound fury.

"Fine, fine," Loki regained her composure and walked back over to the sink. "So when's this big event?"

"This evening, at our old church-home," Hestia replied. "But if things are like you say, then I guess we can't just walk outside, huh?"

"Yeah - if you listen close, you can still hear folk yellin in the street," said Loki.

Hestia leaned over the sink and sat her chin on the faucet. This was all happening so quickly, and she wasn't ready to accept a world without sinks and faucets and other magically-powered tools. Loki said her mage friend had a plan, but no one really controlled the dungeon, right? It always seemed to have a mind of its own. You couldn't just walk up and cast a spell to make it produce monsters again, could you?

"Hey, Washboard," Hestia said without moving her head.

"Eh? Wassup?" Loki grabbed a dish and moving her hand back and forth.

"You're doing that wrong - here," Hestia grabbed the dish and ran her cloth over its grime in fast, determined circles. "You're not used to doing this kind of thing, are you?"

" _Nnnope!_ That's what maids are for," Loki proclaimed with pride. Only she could make a pampered, sheltered lifestyle look like an accomplishment.

"What if the dungeon really is going away?" Hestia handed her dish back to Loki and let her finish scrubbing. "What would we do if that happened?"

"Hmm," Loki stopped and put a finger to her nose. "I dunno. Who says _we_ have to do anything? I'm only here for a little while, y'nkow."

"That's not what I mean," Hestia's cheeks puffed up. "I mean 'we' like 'we gods.' The only thing that separates us from Humans in this world is our Blessing, the Falna. If there's no need for adventurers, what's the point of _us?_ "

"Seriously?" Loki giggled a little. "Moo-moo, adventurer Familias are just one sort. Look at Miach. All his Familia does is make medicine, and they use his Blessing somehow. I think what yer really askin is, 'what'll _I_ do if _I_ gotta move off to some farm and rough it with my kids?'"

Hestia wasn't quite comfortable with how quickly her guest got to the heart of the question. For her, this was a surprising display of empathy and listening skills. Or was Loki always like this but hesitant to show it?

" _Actually,_ " Loki grabbed another dish and stared off into space as she scrubbed, mimicking Hestia's circular motion. "I was thinking about Miach when you were spillin yer teeny heart out earlier. You know Naaza Erisius?"

"No," Hestia strained her memory but came up dry.

"She's a doggie-girl in his Familia," Loki made a bunny-ears sign with her hand behind her head. She likely meant it to be dog-ears. "A while back, she lost her arm, and he took a _huge_ loan from Dian Cecht to get her some kinda silver arm made. I heard she fell for him cuz of that."

"Wow," Hestia was taken aback. "That is a lot like Bell and his supporter, I guess."

Truth was, Goddess Loki knew her one-sided "relationship" with Ais was a much better comparison to Hestia's situation, but she'd quite literally die before saying something like to this mini-deity. Anyway, Ais had been a lot colder in these last few months, rarely paying attention to Loki's behavior, perverted or not. She'd withdrawn into herself even more than usual, and her goddess wasn't sure how to deal with that.

"There ya go again," Loki leaned forward with her knees and narrowed her eyes. "'Supporter.' What's up with that?"

"I'm sure I have _no_ idea what you're talking about." Hestia scrubbed a pot with renewed vigor.

"That supporter's got herself a name, right?" Loki said. "But even though she's gonna be your daughter-in-law or sister-in-law or however this freaky family analogue works, you keep saying 'that _dog_ ,' 'that _supporter_ ,' 'that _girl_.' Now don't get me wrong, I love watchin you squirm, Moo-moo, but tell me: you're not still just thinking of her as your main boy's little helper, like a side character or somethin, are ya?"

"O-Of course she has a name!" Hestia put the pot away and turned her back to Loki. "Anyway, what's with this interrogation? You're just some intruder who doesn't know anything about our situation."

"Whatever," Loki held her arms out, palms up. "I just think from all you said that _maybe_ you'd oughtta go get some different adventurers once this is over, insteada mullin over one you got _waaaay_ too attached to."

Hestia said nothing, but a little voice in the back of her mind whispered: "maybe I _am_ too attached to him."

...

"Eina, I'm hungryyy. Do we have any food in the back?" Misha Flott's stomach grumbled furiously. The pink-haired girl in a two-piece suit was perched on a counter, watching like a bird-dog through glass windows for any signs of the raiding and rioting slowing down.

No one had come in to work this morning. Understandable: all the adventurers were busy fighting near Loki Familia's resort or bullying citizens into giving up their food and weapons for "the war effort," and no adventurers meant no business. Obviously, there wasn't an actual war on, just a bunch of frightened adventurers with slim prospects. Most had given up on raiding Loki Familia and moved on to working over smaller Familias and businesses.

"The mini-fridge in the back should still be working," Eina Tulle said. She sat diligently at her desk, awaiting messages from Reverend Eria's magic notebook.

Eina and Misha were in the opposite situation: they'd stayed overnight at the Guild HQ and, now that trouble had started, they didn't dare leave. It was only a matter of time before the Guild itself was raided for food, gold, and spare magic crystals. Eina knew of a back exit in case of trouble, but she'd rather wait here than risk crossing Orario to get home.

"Oooh, I can't _stand_ sitting around here all day!" Misha said as she grabbed a sandwich from the ice magic-powered refrigerator. "Do you think they'll cut off the power?"

"The Tower provides a lot of crucial functions to the city," Eina remarked, tossing a stress ball up and catching it. "Even though there's a crystal shortage, I think this'll be one of the last places shut down."

"Hey, _catch!_ "

Eina swiveled her chair around and tossed her arms up just in time to catch a flying dagger between her palms. She turned blue in the face. The tip was just inches away from her eyes.

"Misha, are you _insane!?_ " Eina sat the dagger on her desk and balled her fists. "You don't just _throw_ weapons at people! Where did you _find_ that, anyway?"

"It was back here in a crate, 'open in case of emergency.'" Misha said nonchalantly. "They never finished installing alarms, so I thought it would be okay to look inside."

Eina picked the dagger up again. On closer inspection, the blade was ironwork striped with red, glowing markings. She immediately recognized it as a "magic item," a special kind of weapon imbued with a powerful spell. These kind of weapons normally break after a small number of uses.

"I'm _not_ an adventurer! I- I-" Eina's heart raced just looking at the weapon. This messed-up situation was starting to seem very real and frightening.

"We have to protect ourselves," Misha puffed her bottom lip out as she spoke. She probably thought it look authoritative, but she really just looked silly. "Even if we're not adventurers - even if we don't have a God's Blessing, one weapon is better than nothing. Right?"

"I guess so," Eina said, but her thoughts protested: no, no, no, this couldn't be happening! Eina couldn't even imagine herself hurting, much less killing, some desperate person with a magic weapon. She'd worked very hard to stay out of that sort of life, and watching her clients die in the dungeon was plenty enough pain for one life time.

Just as she touched a finger to the edge to test its sharpness, the sound of shattering glass echoed across the Guild.

" _Misha, **run!**_ "

...

"This is so touching, I'm going to cry!" Goddess Loki pulled a handkerchief from her belt. "If I had a tiny violin, I'd play it for your love life, Moo-moo."

Bell and Lili had lied down together on the stone floor below the main hall's hearth. Even though Hestia and Loki had just prepared lunch, these ungrateful soon-to-bed-weds were already sleeping again. What slouches! Just _where_ was their old dungeon-crawling ambition? What of their fiery, up-and-at-em attitude? Hestia thought about saying all this but decided against it. After all, they'd been working plenty hard recently, and they might as well take a break on their wedding day.

"Hey, why don'tcha just hold it here?" Loki asked. "Like, it doesn't matter _where_ they get hitched, yeah? One time, I did a big wedding in a swimmin-pool. After they said their vows, a bunch of horned beetles came pourin out of the drain pipe. Now _that's_ a trick! Boy, you shoulda seen the looks on those folks' faces! I wonder why people don't ask me to host stuff like that more, though..."

"I guess we could," Hestia sighed, defeated. "Still, I told Welf to come to the church around sunset. I hope he doesn't try to make it through the mess outside only to find the place empty."

"You worry too much, Moo-moo," said Loki, defiant. "I'm sure this Worf guy'll be fine. Just apologize later!"

"I wonder if I should wake them up...?" Hestia put her hands to her hips and surveyed the room. She hadn't decorated at all, but if it was just the four of them, so it didn't matter much, and anyway neither Bell nor Lili cared for frou-frou.

From the hall's other end, Hestia heard someone bang on the door several times. The sound echoed through the mansion, and after she turned to look, she heard Bell and Lili stir from behind her. The two goddesses walked over to the door and pressed their faces against it, wary of danger.

"Who's there?" Hestia asked. "What do you want?"

"Open _up!_ " A gruff voice shouted. She could make out several other grumbling voices as well. "Else we'll _blow_ it open!"

" _Raiders-_ " Loki started, but Hestia put a hand over her mouth.

" _Shh!_ What if they're looking for you?" Hestia whispered.

"We're here to requisition resources for the rebellion," The people outside resumed knocking. "Just come out nice and easy, Apollo, and we'll make this painless!"

 _Argh, that's right!_ Lord Apollo was famous for his excessive wealth. He'd challenge weaker Familias to "War Games," illegal skirmishes between two gods' children, and take all their assets when they lost. While Bell was working to buy Hestia a mansion, Demeter Familia beat Apollo's War Game against all odds and auctioned off his old residence. Apollo tried to prevent word of this from spreading, and obviously he'd had some success if these ruffians thought he still lived here.

"Just _who_ are you rebelling against, anyway!?" Hestia tried her best male-voice imitation. It wasn't very convincing. Loki suppressed a giggle.

"Didn't you hear? After the assault on Loki Familia, our glorious, _elected_ governor closed the city gates. They're trying to starve us out!" The man's voice was louder and angrier now. "We're gonna storm the Tower, open the gates, and take back the city! If you won't help us, we'll send you back to Heaven where you belong!"

Hestia shook. If these grunts opened the door, they'd see Loki for sure. She reached, almost instinctively, for her hairpins but stopped when she remembered unleashing her true Goddess powers in public risked a ticket back to Heaven once this was all over.

"Goddess! Loki!"

Hestia's heart skipped a beat. She turned to see Bell gripping his double-daggers in an attack stance. His supporter - no, Liliruca - stood behind him, holding the massive, wrought-iron blade Welf had made just for her.

"B-Bell-kun, what are you doing?" Hestia said, under her breath. The runes on Bell's "Hestia Knife" glowed brighter than ever.

"Goddess, I've decided," Bell bared his teeth and bent forward a little further, preparing for whoever awaited behind the grand door. "Even if Realis Phrase is gone - even if there's no monsters to fight - even if I can't be an adventurer any more, I can still protect the people I love! That's not just the job of an adventurer. It's the job of a husband, and it's my job as your child!"

"It's the same for me," Lili smiled sweetly, a dissonant sight with the giant sword in her hands. "Just because I'm a Prum doesn't mean I have to play second fiddle all the time, you know? I'll fight for Bell no matter what, even if it means leaving our life here."

"You guys are too dramatic," Loki scoffed.

" _Bell-kun, Lili-sama...!_ " Hestia held back tears of joy.

The grand doors swung open. Bell and Lili charged forward while Loki and Hestia ran for their lives. A cold wind blew in and down the hall, speeding and swirling unnoticed until it reached the flickering fire down the hall and choked the life from the flames. Hestia Mansion's once-magnificent hearth fire finally cooled to a stop.


	5. 2B: Will You Be My Wallenstein?

**Chapter 2B: Will You Be My Wallenstein?**

Lefiya Veridis woke up.

A dim light intruded on her field of vision. A vague, blonde shape came into view - she could feel something soft running through her hair - and a soft, sweet song made its way through her ears. Lefiya was content to lie there like that, listening to this sweet music, until she realized her head was propped up on Aiz Wallenstein's lap.

" _Eeeeeee!_ " Lefiya triple-somersaulted off Aiz and directly into a wall. She would later pay for this in forehead knots. Aiz crawled over and put her hand on the girl's head, pushing her thick hair up off her face.

"How are you feeling?" Aiz asked.

"What - where am I? What happened?" Lefiya tried, unsuccessfully, to remember.

" _Mind Down,_ " Aiz answered. "You protected us with _Via Shilheim_ , but it pushed you over the edge."

Though Lefiya was only level three, a Second Class adventurer in Loki Familia, she was already fairly famous among her peers. They called her "Thousand Mage" for her unique magical style. Ordinarily, mages memorized magic from Grimoires, but the extreme strain this placed on their minds meant even the most mentally fortuitous casters could only learn three or four spells _at most_ in their lifetime. Lefiya's third magic was known as " _Summon Burst,_ " a rare Elven incantation from ages gone by. With _Summon Burst_ , she could copy any other spell she knew the chant for at twice the mana cost. Riveria's spells combined with her own made her easily the most versatile mage in the Loki Familia, if not the whole city.

"Oh, no," Lefiya said. Memories rushed back to her. "We've got to get back out there!"

"Stay," Aiz pointed to her lap, and the Thousand Mage very hesitantly lied back down. Though Lefiya couldn't say it out loud, this was one of her greatest fantasies. "The fighting slowed down after we left. Also, your mana is too low to continue casting. If you tried, you would surely pass out again or worse."

"Sometimes I _hate_ being a mage," Lefiya turned away from Aiz's gaze but didn't dare leave her lap. "I wish I was as strong as you, Aiz. You can fight for days without breaks and take on Minotaurs and Golems and Dragons and-"

"That may be true," Aiz interrupted. "But without warriors and mages working side by side, we would both be helpless. Do you remember _Monsterphilia?_ "

Once a year, Ganesha Familia hosts a monster-fighting tournament with tamed monsters. "Monsterphilia," he calls it. Last year, many of those monsters escaped, including a colossal, Hydra-like Vine Beast. Even Aiz couldn't chop its toothy, petaled heads off faster than new ones bloomed, but everyone worked together to protect Lefiya while she cast Riveria's most powerful spell, Wynn Fimbulvetr, a torrent of cold rivaling the ancient Frost Giants in strength. With the entire creature frozen, shattering it was a cinch. Teamwork makes the dream work!

"I guess you're right," Lefiya said at last.

"The dungeon-diving party should be arriving soon," Aiz said. "I'll join the others in escorting them. You worked really hard last night, so rest until you're healed, okay?"

Lefiya nodded. To her absolute astonishment, Aiz Wallenstein bent down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before lifting her up into a nearby bed. She was completely at a loss for words. Her mouth hung open as she watched the Sword Princess leave the room, golden hair gently rocking with each step.

The elf girl indulged in some day-dream fantasies before completely processing that series of events. Wait, did Aiz just kiss her!? But it was just above her eyes, so it was like a motherly or friendly thing. Wait, but she'd never seen Aiz do something like that for anyone! Did Aiz know Lefiya liked her? No, she couldn't possibly know. Lefiya kept her true feelings locked away in her heart. Oh, my, this was just _too much_ on top of everything else going on. Even the Thousand Mage couldn't take it all, so she drifted back off to sleep.

...

Riveria Ljos Alf wandered the crowded streets, hood down, listening for rumors. In Orario, word spread fast, but _never_ this fast. The mere fact that, within a day's time, everyone in the city went from clueless to wholly united against Loki Familia was a major anomaly.

For example, how did the rumor spread? They were the first and only Familia to reach Floor 59, so no one outside their group could have possibly known about the magic barrier (if that _was_ the cause of this mess). Additionally, none of Loki's Third Class adventurers (Level 2 and below) followed them further than the Floor 40 resting point, so her mole would have to be one of the higher-ranking explorers. She flipped through them in her mind. Raul? No, he idolizes his superiors far too much. Riine? A possibility, but Aiz treats her well enough to make up for the others' abuse. Hmm...

Riveria's ears picked up the faintest disturbance in the winds. She heard leaves crinkle as if underfoot. Turning north-northeast, out of the corner of her eye, a bluish, blackish, almost transparent figure peered out at her from behind a tree.

Riveria dashed forward with extreme speed, the full "gallop" of a Level 5 adventurer with nearly-maxed Dexterity. The figure disappeared behind a different tree, but when she reached its dead Winter branches, she saw no figure, no person, nothing. She cursed under her breath before noticing a blue blur dash down a nearby alleyway, and her cloak billowed as she followed, each step a giant leap forward.

 _The chase was on._

...

Finn Deimne walked over to a warm body lying in the courtyard grass and checked its pulse. Alive, breathing, but unconscious. Just as it should be. He didn't give the ragged-looking man lying face-down in Goddess Loki's front yard another thought before moving on to the next person.

"How many is that?" Tiona yelled to him from the other side of the brick walkway running right up to Twilight House's entrance. "Twilight House" was the ancient-looking castle on Loki's resort property and her Familia's main base of operations.

"Three on my side so far," Finn paused over a bloody, battered figure. Half-elf ears, dark brown hair, no real armor. Must've been a new adventurer, just beginning her journey when the trouble started. "Sorry. Make that four."

"Bete's work?"

"Hold on," Finn rolled her over checked for claw marks. Sure enough: long puncture wounds through the chest. She had a cute face. He wondered what her life was like, what Familia she swore allegiance to. She looked eleven, maybe twelve. _A girl like this,_ Finn thought, _should still be playing with toys and learning arithmetic, but she had to go and get herself tangled up in this mess._ Finn finally yelled back: "Yeah."

" _DAMNIT!_ We shoulda left him in the dark!" Tiona yelled to high heaven. Lucky for her, Bete was away with Gareth, Tione, and Aiz. They'd volunteered to go escort Loki's lower-level children back home while she and Finn counted battle-wounds. "He doesn't know how to hold back!"

"L-Let..." A soft voice, almost inaudible even in the post-battle silence, sounded out from Twilight House's entrance. Tiona turned and saw Lefiya limping toward them. "L-Let me help."

"Lefiya, go back inside and rest," Finn waved her away, but he saw a look of absolute determination on her face as she hobbled closer. He recognized that look from somewhere else. It was the look that Bell Cranel boy had when he decided to finally stand up for himself and fight that Minotaur alone.

Lefiya bent down over the seemingly-dead girl near Finn, placed her hands on the girl's chest, and chanted:

 _I wish upon the name of my ancestors from Wieshe_  
 _Those among the great Oak trees, my proud brethren_  
 _Respond to my voice and venture out to the plains_  
 _These connecting bonds, this heavenly vow_  
 _Please answer my call, and grant me your grace.  
_

A large, magic circle materialized under Lefiya, and she began to glow. Beams of light shot up from her pressed-down palms.

" _Summon Burst?_ " Finn took a few steps back. "But even Riveria doesn't know any spells for-"

 _ACESO! Hear my plea from your gleaming throne in golden clouds above_  
 _Below the immortal pillars of Asclepius and Epione, ye child of gods_  
 _Bestow a fraction of your divine rejuvenation on an unbeating heart_  
 _Take from me what you will, pour sand from my Earthly hourglass_  
 _Wet dry blood, warm cold veins, and return this body its spirit!_

Her magic circle grew in size and intensity until the whole courtyard was covered. Eventually, it faded, as did the glow around Lefiya. She, along with Finn and Tiona waited, unmoving, watching for something, anything to happen.

After a few _very_ long moments, Lefiya hiccuped, and a glob of blood trickled down from her lips.

" _Lefiya!_ " Tiona ran over to the girl, past a stunned Finn, and hugged her tight. She started coughing, even more blood spraying out with each motion.

Finn's eyes were transfixed on the previously cold, pale corpse before him. He'd checked twice, no, thrice: no pulse, no breath, completely dead by all measures. Yet now, as Lefiya leaked vital fluids, this young adventurer's wounds closed, and color rushed back to her face. Her eyes twitched as she struggled to return to the world of the living.

"Magic never ceases to amaze me, even now," Finn reached down and gripped the girl's arm. Sure enough, her pulse was steady. "Tiona, I'll take her inside. You grab Lefiya. They need bedrest."

"Isn't she an enemy?" Tiona knew what Finn would say before she asked, but she felt like she had to anyway. Also, she liked hearing his commanding and authoritative voice.

"Not in this state," Finn put his arms under the young girl's back and lifted her a few feet off the ground. "Right now, she's just a responsibility."

...

Raul Nord was a tall, lanky Human of nineteen years (give or take). His spiky-brown hair matched his eyes, and he was rarely seen without a large backpack despite not filling the role of "supporter." Rather, Raul was to Finn what Lefiya was to Riveria: apprentice, close friend, and future successor. Though neither Riveria nor Finn expected to kick the bucket any time soon, they both knew well how easily the dungeon could wrest life from even the most experienced adventurers, and their roles were crucial enough to require immediate replacements were the worst to befall them.

Riveria preferred teaching Lefiya in a more traditional, apprentice-style way with structured lessons and rigorous practice in controlled environments. Finn, on the other hand, as commander of an massive Familia, knew the most crucial aspect of a commander was his ability to make excellent decisions under unpredictable and chaotic circumstances. Raul, therefore, "learned" by leading lower-level Loki explorers on shorter trips through the dungeon when his Familia wasn't busy with primary expeditions. He "passed" his tests by returning alive, and so far, he'd made straight A's. Not too hard when your first F would also be your last, guaranteed.

Marching out of the dungeon with many battered adventurers behind him, Raul saw a curious scene: though the Sun was now high above, no one else inhabited Dungeon Square. This sacred place where adventurers gathered, formed parties, and bought supplies before delving into the Great Dungeon was, today, entirely empty.

"Where is everyone?" Raul finally asked, holding a hand over his eyes for a better view.

A small group of hefty Boaz men, carrying heavy cudgels, approach from a side street. Raul hailed them, but he could tell his followers were gripping their weapons tightly.

"What's that flag there, yeh?" The best-dressed man, clad in full chainmail, pointed to the trickster insignia on Raul's flag. "Who you with, boy?"

"Loki Familia, Sir!" Raul raised his flag and saluted. "How can we help you?"

"Interestin," All six - seven? eight? Raul was a bit dizzy after the elevation change - men licked their lips. "Heading home now? Gon go settle down for a nice nap with yer Goddess?"

"Yessir," Raul saluted again. For him, saluting was less a sign of respect and more a nervous tic.

"Very interestin, very interestin indeed, cause y'see, word on the street is yer Goddess ain't nowhere around, y'see?" The Boaz men circled Raul, cudgels raised. The line of Level 2 warriors at his back raised their blades to match, but they waited for their leader's command. "Wouldn't be goin to some _secret meetin place,_ wouldja? Wouldn't be willin to show us the way?"

 ** _"Airiel."_**

A great gust of wind whipped through the square, blowing all of the Boaz men up into the air and tossing them on their backs. When the dust cleared, Aiz Wallenstein stood before Raul and his exploration team, her sword pointed at the downed chainmail man's throat. Bete, Gareth, and Tione followed close behind her.

"Geez, Aiz, you didn't have to go all out," Tione said. Some low-level adventurers clapped at Aiz's performance.

"Show-off," Bete muttered.

" _Sword Princess!_ " Raul smiled and relaxed now that the threats were on the ground, grumbling to themselves about back and shoulder pain. "Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Ye better follow us, lad," Gareth said, beckoning his group back to Loki's resort.

...

In one of Twilight House's many mass bedrooms, a very young, unnamed girl yawned. At her bedside, a frustrated-looking Prum sat diligently, arms crossed. She made some nondescript sound, and he turned to face her.

"Awake? How are you feeling?" Finn asked her.

Where was she before now? What was she doing? Why was she here? A brief, blurry image of a grey wolf running toward her flickered in her mind's eye but quickly disappeared.

"Oh," she said. _Now_ she remembered.

"I'm told resurrection carries some unfortunate side effects," Finn seemed to be talking partly to her and partly to himself.

"But... why?" The girl struggled to stand or at least sit, but a sharp chest pain pinned her to the mattress. "Why save _me?_ "

"This is a matter concerning not just Loki Familia but all citizens of Orario," Finn turned away from her. "Petty infighting is unimportant. Unless you'd like to try again?"

"No," She shook her head as best she could. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight, but Soma told us we had to."

"Isn't Soma a recluse?" Well, that answered one question. Finn wasn't surprised Soma would be mixed up in this mess with his Familia struggling more than ever.

"E-Ever since the trouble, he's talked to us a _lot_ more," She moved her eyes around, examining the room. Many other adventurers were resting here. They must be Loki Familia's normal adventurers, she thought. How nice of them to share a room with a thief like her. "I-I don't think Soma really _believes_ that stuff about Loki. We were just going to steal things after the others did the fighting."

"I've sat here with you because there's a two - no, three - things which, to me, don't add up," Finn counted to three on his fingers. "I was hoping you could help me find some answers."

"I guess I owe you," She tried her best to smile.

"First, who started the rumor that we were responsible for the trouble?"

"Soma said another god told him," The girl tried to think back to her Familia's briefing. "He didn't say which one. He's all about details, you know, so I thought that was weird, but we were all too nervous to ask him about it."

"Second," Finn's words slowed down as if he was choosing them very carefully. "If Loki is the target, why are raids _still_ occurring all over the city?"

"Huh?" The girl narrowed her eyes but then remembered overhearing something. "I think the city got closed off, but they're trying to open the gates and take the Tower."

" _Closed?_ " Either Finn's eyes grew wide or his pupils shrunk. Either way, same effect. "They shut the city gates?"

Now _this_ was an entirely new issue. They would have to communicate this to Riveria in case she hadn't heard. Even without calling a meeting, an unspoken understanding had already emerged between the higher-ranking members of Loki Familia: after a short rest, they would lead all members outside the city and establish a temporary camp. In the tropical climate just south of Orario, citrus-fruit and other foods grew wild, and the explorers could feed themselves in (relative) safety while the city burned and Riveria hunted for a solution.

If no solution materialized, if the Great Dungeon really was dying, at least some of Loki's children were previously farmers or other menial laborers, so they could eat off their stored supplies while planting a Summer crop. If worse came to worse, they might have to "requisition" established farmland from some innocent families in the country, but Finn tried not to think of that option just yet. He was certain other people in Orario were already thinking the same thoughts. No matter what, you had to eat.

"What was the third thing?" The girl noticed Finn staring off into space.

"Oh," He snapped back to attention. "Aren't you a little _young_ to be a warrior?"

"I didn't have any choice," She frowned. "That's the sort of person Soma takes in, I think. People without any choice."

"Listen," He hopped off her bed and took her hand in his. "Not all gods are like Soma. I think if you met Loki, you might even like her. Before this is all over, I'll make sure you get a chance to do that. Alright?"

" _Thank you,_ " The girl smiled a big, toothy smile. Finn noticed she was short a few teeth. "From the bottom of my heart."

 _In the end,_ thought Finn, _after the adventuring is done and the crystals are sold, this - this right here - is what it's all **really** about._

...

Riveria wasn't used to this sort of exertion. In dungeon runs, she stood with other mages behind the front line, largely idle as they combined spells for maximum effect. While First Class members were allowed to deliberately break rank as needed, she rarely did, and as a result, even with sky-high Dexterity, she was already losing the shadowy figure as they dashed from corner to corner, alley to alley.

Much to Riveria's surprise, her mysterious interloper turned into a dead-end alley. Did he not know that? She heard her heartbeat in her head as she pushed for one last burst of speed. Somehow, it looked like the mystery man's legs didn't move with him, as if he was floating just above the ground.

When she finally made it to the end of the alley, a large Boaz stood before her, his back to a colossal gate between them and the other end of the alley. He held a massive sword out in front of him, and she slid to a stop just out of his striking range. A blue mist coalesced around his sword and slowly faded away.

"That mist-" Riveria started.

"Projection magic," The large man returned his blade to the strap around his back. "High-level. In the right light, it could pass for Human."

"Who are you?" Riveria regarded him with suspicion. "What are you doing here?"

"Ottar," He held out one massive hand. Riveria grabbed a single finger and shook. "And same as you, I suspect."

"Reverend Eria, please to make your acquaintance," Riveria smiled. Ottar couldn't see her eyes, but he knew she was really Loki's magician. Goddess Freya kept tabs on _everyone._ Still, he didn't feel a need to call her out on her baloney.

"I didn't recognize him," He made a floating-up gesture with his hand, referencing the still-dispersing mist. "I thought he might run in to my sword to keep you from catching him. Looks like I thought right."

"Can't projections pass through objects?" Riveria sensed this "Ottar" fellow knew a lot more than he was letting on with his short, matter-of-fact observations.

"Normally, yes," Ottar turned toward the sky. It was nearly midday by now. " _Normally_ they can't make sounds, either, yet I heard this one grunt. Some trick."

"Odd," Riveria lost herself in thought. "I know every high-level mage in Orario by name, but casting a spell like _that,_ and all just to watch someone from the shadows..."

"We're on the same page, then," Ottar walked down the alley and back into the sunlight.

Riveria quickly began piecing it all together. Somewhere in, above, around, or - gods forbid - under Orario, a god had unleashed its true power and was causing trouble. Perhaps this same god was even behind the rumor of Loki Familia's involvement. But which god would do something like that, and why?

...

 _Great God Zeus, high above in a third-story cafe balcony, finished off his tea and tossed the decorated porcelain cup aside. It shattered into a hundred very beautiful pieces on the floor. The waitress for his section gritted her teeth but said nothing._

 _" **HARRUMPH!** And why would you suspect me of this?" Zeus eyed his daughter with suspicion, but it was a false suspicion. 'Pretending to be losing an argument' was a fun game for him. "Would not he stay behind in Heaven if he had such concerns?"_

 _"Despoina, who only descended recently, told me he was absent in Heaven when she left," Persephone said. She was a fair-skinned Goddess with curly hair and a white toga, taking after her mother Demeter far more than her father. "Yet no one among us has seen him here, either. I know you two had a strained relationship, Father."_

 _"That much is true, but I didn't kill him," Zeus turned his nose up at Persephone. "We simply disagreed on the nature of our responsibilities. Anyway, isn't the current theory that we return to Heaven at death? If he died, someone up there would've noticed."_

 _"Theory, yes," Persephone leaned forward. Zeus admired his daughter for her hardheadedness and confidence. Though she didn't take after his looks, she inherited one-hundred percent of his attitude. "But without any slain gods to confirm, it will remain a theory. I, for one, believe we will simply disappear after death."_

 _"And I'm sure you have excellent evidence for that," Zeus cracked a smug smile._

 _"Indeed," Persephone, with absolute composure and grace, grabbed her knife from the table between them and stuck it directly through her left hand. A mortal woman at a nearby table screamed. Golden ichor, lifeblood of gods, poured out from Persephone's hand and onto the wooden table before her. The mercury-like substance bored a hole directly through the wood, dripped onto the balcony floor, and began tearing through that as well. The cafe's waitstaff rushed downstairs to evacuate their diners._

 _"And what's that supposed to prove, insolent bastard child?" Zeus slammed his fist on the ichor-burnt table, splitting it in two._

 _"When Humans bleed, their bodies refill with blood over time," Persephone held up the hole in her palm to Zeus' face. "This, however, is our weakness. In Heaven, our modest supply of ichor did not matter since we could not harm one another. On Earth, reduced to this half-mortal state, we could easily bleed each other dry. Even now, after that small wound, a part of me has faded forever. Don't you see, Father?"_

 _Zeus wasn't ready to accept the implications of Persephone's "experiment," but to go this far just to prove her point, he could tell she was entirely convinced. Though his daughter was wrong about the murder of her husband, he began to see her way on this matter. Starting tomorrow, Zeus would forbid gods from ever entering the Great Dungeon again. It was simply too dangerous. Their Familias would have to make do without direct supervision.  
_

...

Lefiya Veridis came to. Again.

This time, she didn't somersault out of Aiz's lap. She pretended to remain asleep, not even opening her eyes, basking in the pleasant feeling of Aiz's hand running through her hair, caressing her scalp. For all she knew, this was just another dream, and you know what? She would be okay with that, too.

"I suppose we're a lot alike," Aiz said, likely to herself. "You always push yourself too hard. You'd do anything for us. Today, you risked your life for a person you'd never even met before."

Aiz touched a finger to Lefiya's nose and ran it down her chin, across her chest, and stopped at her waistline. Lefiya turned bright red. What was with this intimacy? _Actually,_ _that's it,_ Lefiya thought. She really _was_ dreaming. There's no _way_ Aiz, the soft-spoken, deeply withdrawn Sword Princess would be spending one-on-one time with some second-rate Elf girl with everything going on outside.

"I hope she's okay," Lefiya finally opened her eyes and spoke. Aiz's face, partially silhouetted by the ceiling-lamp, smiled down at her. Even Heaven couldn't _possibly_ be as wonderful as this moment. "I just didn't want anyone else to die."

"You have a long life ahead of you," Aiz said. "There'll be plenty of time to be a hero."

"I guess I'll have to get to know you really well one day, when I'm-" Lefiya couldn't finish her sentence. The thought of Riveria dying, even of old age, even in a dream, was too much.

"No need to wait that long. If this all works out, we could all go, um," Aiz put a fingertip to her lips, inquisitively. "What do women do for fun, normally?"

"I guess they shop for clothes?" Lefiya shrugged. She couldn't remember the last time she bought anything but equipment and potions. "We haven't really had normal lives, had we?"

"Adventuring isn't such a bad life," Aiz placed the same finger on Lefiya's bottom lip - an indirect kiss. Now she was absolutely, 100% certain she was dreaming. "We'll shop for clothes, then. Tiona and Tione would like that."

"Aiz, before I wake up," Lefiya felt a lump well up in her throat, trying to stop her from saying those next words, but she wouldn't let that happen. This might be her only chance. "Kiss me."

Aiz Wallenstein obliged. There, hidden in Twilight House's grand library, now the only room where they could be alone, Lefiya Veridis and Aiz Wallenstein embraced. One thought back to her past, of her obliviousness and failure, of Bell and that wretched dog-girl, wondering if this was, in some way, a personal act of revenge. The other thought of the future, maybe in the dungeon or maybe far away from Orario on a little country homestead, just the two of them living out the rest of their days in quiet love and peace. For Lefiya, even the harsh TICK, TOCK of the grandfather clock seemed to melt away in their moment of bliss.

"By the way," Aiz stopped and caught her breath. "What did you mean, _'before I wake up?'_ "

A wave of terror washed over Lefiya. This was no dream. She touched her lips, and Aiz's saliva was still there. The elf girl giggled a little, nervously, before quadruple somersaulting off Aiz's lap and straight out the door.

" ** _EEEEEEEEEeeeeek...!_** "

Aiz could only laugh. She laughed a real, hearty laugh, something she hadn't done in years. Maybe... maybe opening up like this wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
